This post has been self-published on Youth Ki Awaaz by Shanthi Cheriyan. Just like them, anyone can publish on Youth Ki Awaaz. Find out more
Is The Grading System In Our Educational Institutions A Deterrent To Free And Fair Learning?
More from Shanthi Cheriyan
By Shanthi Cheriyan:
Rahul was one of the toppers in his class, he scored top grades in most of the subjects and was clearly labeled as an IIT product by his teachers. But sadly, he didn’t qualify the test. What failed? He? Or the educational system that trained him?
Rahul is just a typical example of thousands of students out there who are part of the Indian educational system, often called the rat race, which focuses not on learning but becomes a competition of students and teachers to score higher grades. The only learning the system imparts is that of the ability to mug up the curriculum, termed as “rote learning”. End result? A group of students who have scored anywhere from 90 to 100 but has no understanding of the subject. There is even an ad by a prominent health drink, where parents fight to give their child the ‘laddu’ for getting top grades in the class, which apparently that health drink will help achieve.
Grading system is an initiative brought forth by the government with the prior aim of motivating students. But sadly, it seems to have done more harm than good. It has so altered our learning system that students are more focused on scoring high grade for examinations rather than actually being interested in gaining knowledge through practical learning.
I don’t need to state any facts or do any research to prove this. It is quite clear if we observe the students who graduate from various universities and colleges. According to a report in the Fair Observer, there are about 621 universities and 27468 colleges in India as of 2012. Thousands of engineers graduate from various colleges all over India, probably one of the largest numbers in the world. But we still lag behind in terms of technological advancements and innovations.
A typical image of a classroom still remains that of a professor walking in, marking attendance, delivering lectures while the students copy it down, mug up and vomit the same during exams. If you have the ability to mug up and recall whatever you have learned, you become a bright student. Practical knowledge and analytical skills seems to have very little importance in our educational system.
The first thing that any organization that you go to work for asks is, to ‘unlearn what you have learned’. What is the use of such education? Why would you want to waste your parents’ money if the only thing it can buy you is a degree and not practical knowledge?
In a study, it was found that students who were told they would be graded on how well they learn a social studies lesson found it more difficult to understand the content than the students who were told that they would not be graded. (Grolnick and Ryan, 1987)
It is high time that we change our focus from grade oriented to learning oriented education. We need to give our students better reasons for education other than grades. Apart from an awareness that we do not need grades to engage students and to motivate them to learn. Research has shown that when the curriculum is engaging, that is, teaching is made more interactive and students are given more practical classes and hands-on experience, students who are not graded perform at the same level as students who are graded. (Moeller and Reschke, 1993)
The Indian government and education ministry should take a wide look at the current state and make holistic changes to the system which can, in the coming years and decades, churn out better educated, learned and better prepared individuals.
You must be logged in to comment.
Manan Grover
The recent changes in the high school education, that is removing of board exams in class 10th and bringing in the CCE (Continuous Comprehensive Evaluation) system has brought about a major shift from the rote-learning culture. More weight age is being given to projects and class interaction and assignments than the mug-up and reproduce in exams systems.Changes need to happen at the graduation level as well. A students grade at the end of the day should reflect his real time application of the subject and not how many answers he mugged up.
gagandeep
there should be more practical and less theoretical education . this should be done too early otherwise i dont think that any of the citizen will get the proper thing which is ther right…..
Varun Bhargava
Teachers and students in India know very well what clicks in education institutions here. Grades are the primary parameter here, and that’s what’s making people lesser skilled and rote learners. The system is wrong right from the beginning. The new systems introduced(CCE etc) are just an upgrade to the mugging going on out there. The projects involved in the CCE system and the assignments are made by teachers, and they know what to do to provide themselves with easement. As an example, in most of the schools, students are asked to make charts or tables on a particular topic and are mostly graded on the basis of the art aspects. Where does the knowledge and application aspect go?We’re just losing out on the innovation front, and that’s the need of the hour in today’s scenario.
Mounik Lahiri (@mindscaped)
I co authored this some time ago, faint guess you might want to read through it: http://www.teacherplus.org/cover-story/what-are-we-teaching-our-children